Mongolia
Nomadic tribes of the endless steppes of Mongolia, including the Turks, the Huns and the Mongols, established some of world’s largest empires. One of the reasons they were able to do so was their effective and exceptionally skilful use of horses. It is not by chance that an old Mongolian proverb is: ‘A man without a horse is like a bird without wings’. Therefore, one would expect quite a number of equestrian statues in this country, which moreover has the important raw material for bronze on hand in the form of the world’s largest copper deposits. However, there are relatively few equestrian statues in Mongolia, probably as a result of the rule during the last few centuries by the Chinese and the Russians, not allowing the Mongolians to cherish their own identity. Nevertheless, this is compensated for by the fact that Mongolia is home to the world’s largest equestrian statue.
After the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in 1368, the Mongols returned to their earlier patterns of internal strife, with the result that by the end of the seventeenth century, what is now modern-day Mongolia had been incorporated into the area ruled by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty. During the collapse of the Qing in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, but had to struggle until 1921 to firmly establish de facto independence. It took until 1945 for the country to gain international recognition.